The Shadow's Realm
by Raivana
Summary: One minute Naruto was run out of Konoha by a mob and cornered by a psyco woman and the next he has a highly disfunctional family that're murdering each other one moment and for each other the next. How will Naruto's new family and powers change his world?
1. Ishtvar

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. I do, however, own the plot, my original characters, etc.**

**I have had so many freaking ideas for a Naruto fanfic bouncing around in my head for so long that I finally decided to pick one and write it. Just an FYI this story is practically a crossover with an original story that I'm trying to write (as are all but one of my other ideas). If I'm not clear about something or am explaining things well enough please tell me.**

**Another FYI, this chapter is probably going to be a little confusing. Please tell me if any of my explanations make no sense so I can try and fix them.**

**Also, I don't have a beta so if you see any mistakes that I missed proofreading please let me know. I like to think I have good grammar but I know I still make mistakes. Also on the 'I don't have a beta' thing, all of my timeline details pretty much come from the anime and other fanfics, so some of my timeline might be a little off.**

**Without further ado I give you...**

**The Shadow's Realm**

**Preface: Forsaken Children**

There are legends that speak of children who do not age. That never change. They watch the world from the shadows, in it but never a part of it. Watching…

Or waiting.

Some of the stories say that these Forsaken Children are lead by a Black-Eyed Child who commands them to his will. Others say it is a golden haired woman who leads them. Others say that they have no leader and squabble constantly among themselves. Others still combine them, saying that there are two groups who are fighting a secret war.

Every so often, a rumor pops up of a Forsaken Child here or there but they are never confirmed and the rumors drift away.

One of the legends says that when the Forsaken Children gather and the Black-Eyed Child returns, it will herald the destruction of the world.

**Chapter One: Ishtvar**

_**(*)Naruto(*)**_

Six-year-old Naruto Uzumaki didn't understand it. He collapsed to his hands and knees. Tears dripped onto the backs of his hands. The sounds of pursuit had faded some time ago but Naruto hadn't stopped running until his legs had finally refused to keep going and had given out on him. He couldn't understand why everyone seemed to hate him so much.

Naruto crawled to the base of a tree and curled into a ball, making himself as small as possible. He didn't know where he was anymore or which way led back to Konoha. He was lost and he was alone. Naruto sniffed and wiped his eyes with his dirty sleeve. Maybe it was better this way, a nasty voice somewhere in the back of his head said. It's not like anyone in Konoha wanted him around anyway, well, except maybe old man Hokage and Mr. Ichiraku. People called him a monster. The more extreme called him a demon. Everyone else either ignored him or glared at him with those cold, hate-filled eyes. And none of them would even tell him what he had done wrong.

"My, my. What _do_ we have here?"

Naruto's head jerked up and his eyes widened. In front of him stood a blonde-haired, blue-eyed woman. She was smiling but her features were sharp and her eyes had a cold glint that reminded Naruto of a polished kunai. That and the way she folded her arms and stood as if the world was beneath her turned that possibly reassuring smile into a cruel smirk. Naruto shrank back against the tree. Maybe if he made himself small enough the woman would go away.

She didn't. She laughed and crouched down in front of him, the same smile still on her face. "Well, little child, you are very interesting. I wonder—"

Naruto felt his heart racing. It pounded in his ears as if trying to tell him there was something very _wrong_ with this woman who crouched in front of him talking to herself and looking at him with her cruel smile and calculating eyes. She seemed to have gotten lost somewhere in her musings. Naruto inched toward the edge of the tree. Maybe if he moved slow enough now and then took off as fast as he could the woman wouldn't notice, or she wouldn't bother to follow.

She didn't. She laughed.

When he reached the edge of the tree, Naruto ran but he didn't get very far. Something wrapped around his ankles and yanked him backward. The things dragged him back to where the woman now sat, cross-legged, on the ground, laughing. Her laugh was even more frightening than her smile. Naruto felt the things let go of his ankles. He tried to scoot away from the laughing woman again but he backed into something smooth and solid, like a wall. He looked back over his shoulder to see what it was but there was nothing there.

The laughing stopped. "Now, now, little child," the woman reached her hand toward Naruto. He flinched and closed his eyes, expecting her to hit him but instead she simply rested her hand on top of his head. "you look exhausted. You should get some rest."

Naruto's world faded to black and the last thing he saw was that cruel smile.

_**(*) LeiuSheeta (*) **_

LieuSheeta was ecstatic. To think that she would stumble onto such a curiosity out in the middle of some godforsaken (she liked that word, _forsaken_) forest. She almost _had_ stumbled literally over it as well. A bubble of laughter escaped her lips. She suppressed the rest of the fit into small giggles. Her earlier bout had likely scared off every living thing within fifty yards. Ah, the madness of the Ishtvar. (How she loved it.) _**He**_ had awoken like that once, after she had rebirthed him, laughing that same mad laugh that their kind shared. (Even that little Aggie girl had it.) Then, little LukimonMarru would show up at their Master's call with that same scowl on his face that he always wore in her presence. (The Raven boy was just so _adorable _when he was angry. She had never heard his laugh though. Shame.)

Speaking of Masters, Lukes, and little boys…

Using Lieu, Sheeta created a buffer of babble around her thoughts. Within the buffer, she continued on with her pervious train of thought about how adorably annoying Lukimon could be when he was _forced_ to work with her and then how _un_adorably _infuriating _he was when he worked against her. He always looked down on her. _Everyone_ always looked down on her, she was so damn short.

In the center of the babble bubble (she liked the way that sounded), were her real thoughts. She was careful to keep them low key so that they wouldn't be broadcast through Lieu and into the Shadow Realm where, if they wanted to, any Ishtvar could easily pick up on them. She need to keep that infuriating Raven boy from discovering what she was up to until it was too late for him to do anything about it. Unfortunately, he would find out about it as soon as she started the process. (The Shadow Realm could be so annoying.) She just had to create a large enough disturbance in the Physical Realm that it would take him awhile to find her. (Infuriating Gate-Walking brat.)

Speaking of brats… back to the matter at hand.

Sheeta frowned down at the unconscious boy. He looked like he lived in a sewer. His clothes were dirty, bloody, and torn in more places than She cared count. No one would miss this one, she thought. But…

There was something about this boy—no, there was something _sealed_ in this boy that had drawn her attention. Something _nasty_. Sheeta quashed down the laughter that was bubbling back to the surface. If she had to many fits someone (that Raven boy) would notice.

She studied the seal on the boy's stomach while Lieu ventured from her and drew a complex sealing circle on the ground. The boy's seal and the one she was planning shouldn't interfere with each other but, she smiled, part of the reason she was so curious was to see what would happen if they did. What would win, she wondered. This boy's monster, or a Shadow? She supposed that would probably depend on the Shadow.

Sheeta frowned at the boy, again. (She was doing far too much of that today.) The boy was young, younger than would usually survive. (Except for that Aggie girl and she was madder than the rest of them.) Perhaps she ought to leave him and watch and wait until he was older… _but_ the longer she waited, the more likely it was that Raven boy would find out what she was up to and stop her. No, this boy had a strong soul. That was easy to see. He would _live_ and he would be strong. Sheeta's smile returned. If he would have enough sanity to use that strength effectively was the question, (or if he _would_ be like that Aggie girl.) With that Raven boy looking after him though, the boy would be fine. Luckily, she didn't have to be present to observe her projects. (The Shadow Realm could be so useful.)

Lieu returned to her, the circle complete. She took her place at the edge of the circle. She started four other disturbances in the area that would ripple through Shadow Realm giving off the same signature as the sealing circle she activated at the same time.

She was expecting the feeling of unhinged rage that filtered from the Shadow Realm through Lieu and into her and didn't let interrupt her concentration. That Raven boy was angry. Sheeta kept up her buffer so she would be harder to find but let the echo of her laugh reach Marru and, by extension, that Raven boy along with a bit of a taunt.

"_Just sit and watch, Watcher. It's all you can do…"_

Sheeta felt the fabric of the Shadow Realm twist and rip as the Raven boy stepped through the Veil between the Shadow and Physical Realms and into the Shadow Realm. He bent the Realm itself and created a Gate he could use to walk from his location (long way away is seems) to hers. Within the same moment in the Physical Realm, that Raven boy entered the Shadow Realm on the other side of the continent and left it fifty yards from one of her decoys. (Annoying Gate-Walking Raven boy.) It was the one farthest from her. The frustration she felt radiating from Marru told Sheeta that he was not where he intended to be. (Slightly less annoying _bad_ Gate-Walking Raven boy.) He was still too close for comfort though. Now that he was here it would not take him long to find her. She needed to delay him a few moments longer. She called her Shadow Puppets through the Veil and positioned them between the Raven boy and her.

With that Raven boy distracted, Sheeta focused as much of her energy as she could on hastening the sealing process. She didn't have to finish it before the Raven boy reached her, she just had to reach the point of no return. The point where he could not stop the sealing without destroying the boy's soul in the process.

There! The sealing array lit up with a dark light. Sheeta smiled, letting the laughter bubble up and her mental shield fall. She called her Shadow Puppets too her and they gathered around her, still between her and the Raven boy.

He stood there, on the edge of her Physical senses. She could feel him there though and could just imagine the scowl on his face that matched the rage that seeped off him. She just continued laughing as a deafening shriek filled the area, the scream of the Shadow as it bound to the child's soul.

"_**Dray kaiz!**_"

The Raven boy didn't even wait for the sealing array's light to fully fade before attacking. Sheeta's Shadow Puppets took most of the Shadow Blades but one of them reached her and took a chunk out of arm, nearly severing it from her shoulder.

LieuSheeta laughed as she fled, her arm already regenerating and her Shadow Puppets acting as cannon fodder. The Raven boy chased her until she crossed the Veil into the Shadow Realm. He stopped (looking after the child was more important to him) but he sent Marru after her. To watch. She laughed. It was all he could do.

She would not realize until much later that the Raven boy had not been alone.

_**(*) LukimonMarru(*) **_

To say LukimonMarru was pissed would have been an understatement. But, then again, anything said about LukimonMarru would likely be an understatement. (He tended toward extremes.) Right now, he was swearing, quite vulgarly, in every language he knew, (and he knew a lot of languages) in front of two kids. However, one of them was unconscious (possibly dead) and the other hardly counted as a kid. (most of the time.)

He reached up and grasped the sliver feather-shaped talisman that hung around his neck, its sharp edges cutting into the palm of his hand. He held his hand out and let black blood drip from the already healing wound.

"_**Marez.**_"

The drops of blood changed shape and became birds. They screeched and took off, crossing the Veil and following after Marru and Sheeta. He sat down on the ground and glared at a tree.

"The tree didn't do anything to you, Luke."

"The kid alive?"

"Yes."

Luke sighed. "Is that a good thing or a bad thing though? It might have been better to die than end up like Aggie."

"Shush. I have an idea."

Luke leaned back on his elbows and looked over his shoulder. Drayan stood over the blonde boy, scraggily black hair hiding his face. Shadows shifted oddly around them, wiping away the remnants of Sheeta's sealing circle. _No_, he wasn't just erasing Sheeta's circle, he was making a new one.

"What in the hell are you trying to do?"

"A time release power seal. Now shh, I'm on a time crunch."

Luke spun around and watched what Drayan was doing. He _was_ rushing, Luke realized, which was really strange. (And he was strange to begin with.) Drayan sat down at the edge of the seal and activated it, the patterns dimly glowing. His face was set with more determination than Luke had ever seen (in this life) and he began to speak a Rite, slowly and deliberately despite his haste. His expression changed to a look of frustration that Luke easily recognized. The all powerful, ageless Master of Shadows had forgotten that he didn't have access to all of his power and was residing in the body of a five-year-old child. Luke stood and walked to the edge of the circle. "Do you need help?"

_-Yes.-_ Instead of answering out loud and interrupting the spoken Rite, Drayan answered by letting the word pass to Luke through the Shadow Realm and altering the portion of the sealing circle behind him. Luke knelt in the place that had formed for him in the circle and placed his hands on Drayan's shoulders.

Even though he knew it was coming, Luke still wasn't quite ready when Drayan started using his body as a conduit to draw power from the Shadow Realm. It didn't _hurt,_ per se, but it was a far from pleasant feeling. It felt kind of like have too much energy forced through his system, which made him jumpy and on edge on top of the general feeling of unpleasantness it caused. And Drayan was drawing _a lot_ of power.

It hit him then, like a punch to the gut in his over sensitized state, that this whole situation was terribly familiar. _"I need your help, Luke."_ He could see the fair-haired woman standing in front of him again with an infant child in her arms.

_-__**Don't!**__-_ Drayan snarled.

_-It's the same seal, isn't it? The one Lady Agari put on you so you could age.-_

_-Basically. Now, __**quiet!**__-_ And that was an order.

Luke shut up, physically and mentally. He knew that this seal and the Rite that went with it were complicated enough without him distracting Drayan from it. He meditated, focusing on the patterns of the seal and directing power to where it needed to go to take some of the strain off of Drayan's small body.

The sealing circle stopped glowing and Drayan collapsed backward into Luke's arms, breathing heavily. Luke eased him onto his back with his head and shoulders on his knees. "Why were you in such a rush anyway?"

"I had to complete it before the Shadow finalized its form or it wouldn't work." Drayan's answer was breathless. He had really exhausted himself. "I think that it—she, she's decided she's a she— realized that what I was doing would help them and remained indecisive for longer than was strictly necessary."

It was way too late to think that the method could help Aggie then. "Do you think it worked?"

"Yes. It should seal his mind off from the majority of the Shadow Realm and gradually open him up to it." Drayan closed his eyes and ran his hand through his hair.

Luke found himself nodding slowly. That fact would be good for the kid's sanity. Many of the Ishtvar believed that the initial sensory and information overload of being connected to the Shadow Realm was a major cause of their madness. "What about aging, regeneration, and abilities?"

Drayan sighed. "This is mostly conjecture but ," he covered his eyes with his hand, "he should age somewhat normally until the seal completely wears off or I break it. If he's anything like me, regeneration shouldn't be an issue. It might be slower than normal for a few years and take up most of the energy he gets from the Shadow Realm but then it should level out, that's about the same point when she should be able use the more basic Ishtvar abilities."

"Who were you planning on dumping him with? Should we take him back to Sanctuary?"

"No. I've got an idea about that. They're going to be strong…" A smile spread across Drayan's lips and a sharp bark of laughter passed them. "NarutoKin."

_**(*) Naruto(*) **_

It was dark where Naruto was, or maybe dim was a better word because he could still see. He couldn't see any kind of light source though. He wasn't where he last remembered being either. The last thing he remembered was being in the forest and the woman with the cruel smile. Now, he stood in what looked like a city's sewer system. He was up to his knees in murky water that looked like it came out of the wrong end of a cow.

"Hello!" Naruto shouted down the passageway. "It anyone there?" His words echoed back to him and carried down the passage behind him.

_-Naruto!-_

Naruto stopped and looked around him. A voice that sounded like a little girl's seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere at the same time. "Hello?"

_-Naruto.-_

The voice seemed farther away this time, like it was walking away from him and had turned a corner. Naruto tried to follow it. "Wait! Where're you going?"

_-Naruto.-_

Naruto ran after the voice. He tried to ask it questions but it just continued to repeat his name over and over.

_-Naruto. Naruto. Naruto.-_

Naruto turned a corner and stopped in his tracks. The scenery had abruptly changed. In front of him was a dense forest. To his left and his right the sewer area extended as far as he could see but in front of him the sewer ended abruptly, as if somebody had forgotten to build a wall between the sewer and the forest. He couldn't see the forest clearly; it was hidden by a strange black mist.

_-Naruto.-_

The voice was coming from the forest. Naruto eyed the black mist warily. Strangely, it didn't feel menacing to him. He reached his hand into the mist. It felt strangely warm, comforting, like another hand wrapped around his own.

_-Naruto.-_

Naruto climbed out of the sewer water and into the mist. He expected that it would be dark on the other side but the forest was bright and once inside the odd dark mist he could see clearly despite the way it seemed to cling to everything. He walked down the winding path that unfolded in front of him following the voice that continued to call him.

He came upon a small perfectly circular clearing filled with forget-me-nots. In the center was a smooth, flat rock on which sat a girl. She was small and a little frail looking, lacking the baby fat most children had. She wore nothing but a loose fitting black shift and her long hair was a pale, almost pinkish, shade of brown. Both her hair and dress were in constant motion, as if she sat in her own personal whirlwind that effected nothing else in the clearing.

She stood when she saw him, waving her arms in the air and smiling. _–Naruto!-_ Even though the girl's mouth never moved, Naruto knew that she was the one who spoke. Now that he was out of the sewers, he could hear that the girl's voice had an odd echoing quality to it. It was less like an actual echo and more like many voices speaking the same thing at the same time. The girl's was just the loudest and most prominent among them. _–Come on!-_ She waved her arms again, motioning for Naruto to join her on the rock.

Naruto climbed up onto the rock with her. She was just a little bit taller than he was or maybe the part of the rock she was standing on was just a little higher. Even that close he couldn't feel the wind that blew her hair and dress. "Who are you?"

_-We are Kin.-_

"Kin?"

_-Yes!-_ Kin nodded and then pointed at him. _–You are Naruto.-_

"Well… Yeah—"

_-We,-_ Kin waved her hand around between them, indicating them both, _-are NarutoKin.-_

"We…" Naruto mimicked Kin's motion in between them. "As in both of us together?" Kin nodded her head vigorously. "Meaning… that you're part of me?"

–_Yes!- _Kin's face brightened. She clasped her hands together under her chin and bounced on the balls of her feet. _–We are part of you. You are part of us. Together!-_

An image of the blonde woman and the frightening smile that was the last thing Naruto remembered before blacking out. He shuddered. Did she have something to do with this?

_-Yes!-_ Kin voice changed from enthusiasm to fury. _–She bound us.-_

Naruto looked up in shock. _–Hey, Kin? Can you read my mind?-_

_-Yes!-_

_-Well, then, what did that woman do to us?-_

_-She bound us.-_

"You said that before but what's that mean?"

Kin tipped her head to the side and frowned._-We don't know-_

"You… don't…" Naruto groaned and sat down on the edge of the rock. "What're we going to do?"

Kin sat down beside him. _–We will figure it out. We are not alone. We are together.-_

Naruto looked over at her, his eyes wide. "Us? Together?" Tears began to slide down his cheeks. "But I've... always been…alone…"

Kin scowled, looking even angrier than she had a moment ago. Then, she began to change. Her form darkened and seemed to disperse like the mist around them. Naruto jumped to his feet and stared, wide-eyed and slack-jawed at the place where she had sat. Before he could say anything, or even freak out farther, the mist-that-was-Kin began to reform. It didn't take the form of a girl thought. Sitting on the rock beside Naruto was a large four-tailed fox. Its fur was the same color as Kin's hair and the markings on its chest and tail were black instead of white. It looked angry, but somehow Naruto knew that it wasn't angry at him.

_-Mean people. Evil people. They know not of which they speak. They lie!-_ The fox buried its head in Naruto's stomach. _–Naruto doesn't have to go back. We can find others to stay with.-_

"Kin?" Naruto tentatively laid his hand on the fox's head and it nuzzled his fingers. "That is you, isn't it?"

_-Yes.-_ Kin whined in the back of her throat. _–We don't have to go back.-_

"Yes, we do."

Kin tipped her head to the side, puzzled. _–Why?-_

Naruto paused. He wasn't quite sure how to answer the question. He thought about old man Hokage smiling at him and Mister Ichiraku giving him free ramen at the end of the day. There were other nice people too. Like the two ANBU who watched over him that thought he didn't know about them and the lady at the clothing store who gave him clothes that weren't good enough to sell but were still decent for free even though the store's boss refused to let Naruto anywhere near the place. Then there was the retired ninja with one leg that lived near the gate that let him hide in his garden and gave him fresh vegetables (even though he didn't really like vegetables.)

He remembered them all. Naruto felt every single act of kindness seemed to flood through his mind and, by extension he realized, Kin's.

_-You see, Kin? I have to go back. There's good people in Konoha. If I go back and become a strong ninja I can protect them. And then maybe one day, I'll be Hokage and then I'll change Konoha for the better and help kids like me.-_

Naruto wasn't sure when it happened but Kin was in human form again and had a determined pout on her face. _–We will help! We will show them truth. We will help change Konoha!-_ She smiled and held her hand out to Naruto. _–Together!-_

Naruto found himself smiling as well. He took Kin's hand. "Together." He frowned. "Now we just have to figure out what this being bound thing means."

_-Oh! There are others like us. They came to help us.-_

"Can we trust them though?"

_-Yes. They speak truth.-_

"Okay, I trust you."

Kin giggled. _–You need to wake up now. They want to talk to you.-_

"Will you be there when I wake up?"

_-Yes.-_ Kin squeezed Naruto's hand. _–We are always with you.-_

_**(*) NarutoKin(*) **_

"Why _her_ of all people? Do you really think she's capable of looking after a kid?"

"Luke, I'm exhausted and not in the mood to argue right now. If you haven't figured it out by now, there's no point in trying to explain it."

Naruto could still feel Kin's hand pressed into his own. When he opened his eyes, she looked a little different though, as if there was a strange shadow cast over her features partly hiding them from view.

A teenager with dusty blonde hair stood with his back to them, completely blocking the second speaker from view. What appeared to be a young woman with short, choppy hair sat at his feet. She leaned back against the side of his leg with one leg bent, the other straight, and her hands clasped around her knee. She had her head tipped back as if staring at the sky but Naruto couldn't see any of her features clearly. It was as if she were covered by the same strange black shadow as Kin. She turned her head toward them and Naruto thought she might have smiled.

The other two people in the clearing kept arguing. The man's voice was loudly arguing against whoever it was that the second voice wanted to leave 'the brat' with while the second voice kept saying that it was already decided and he was tired. Naruto was surprised that the second voice sounded like a child but had a weirdly authoritative ring to it that almost demanded to be listened to.

The shadow woman looked up at the blonde man with a vaguely annoyed expression. She turned back to Naruto and Kin and shook her head. _–He always does this. He spreads his focus too wide and then doesn't hear when we try to talk to him. You'd think he'd learn a thing or two after all these years.-_ The woman's voice was like Kin's, as if many voices were speaking at once and the woman's was the loudest.

_-Who're you?-_ Naruto asked.

The woman smiled. _–We are Marru.-_ She gestured over her shoulder at the teenager. _ –This foolish child is Lukimon. Most people just call him Luke these days.-_

_-So you, Marru, and him, Luke, are like me and Kin?-_

_-Yes.-_

Naruto was about to ask another question when he realized that he hadn't been speaking aloud.

_-Don't let it concern you.-_ A new voice said. _–You'll be able to speak this way with all of our kind.-_

_-Who're you?-_

_-I am Drayan. The 'weirdly authoritative' kid you noted earlier.-_

Naruto frowned. _–You don't sound much like a kid now.-_ The fact the kid's voice was still arguing with Luke.

_-That's because I'm not really a little kid, I'm just sealed in one's body.-_

Kin squeezed Naruto's hand. _–He speaks truth.-_

Naruto squeezed back. _–If you say so, Kin.-_

_-Now, if that's sorted out,-_ Naruto's face reddened when he realized that Drayan had overheard the exchange. He felt a bit of embarrassment from Kin as well. _–We've got some things to discuss. I'll kick Luke out of argument-land so we can do so. Just a moment.-_

"Marru's annoyed with you." Drayan said out loud. "You've spread you're focus to wide again and are ignoring her again. She's been trying to get your attention for the past five minutes to tell you the kid's awake."

Luke nearly jumped out of his skin. He whipped around so fast that it almost looked like his body would have kept going even after his head stopped. Marru's posture was completely unaffected by the change in her backrest. "Oh...The kid's awake."

"I do believe I just said that." Drayan stepped around Luke and sat down against a tree next to Naruto. He was shorter than Naruto was and nearly as thin. His eyes were dark grey and his hair was jet black and hung to his chin. He yawned and leaned his head against his knees. "Call off some of your Eyes. One of us needs to be coherent and unfortunately it's not going to be me for much longer."

Naruto gazed at Luke with bewilderment. How was it possible for someone to call off their eyes? He looked at Kin but her shoulder rose and fell in a shrug. She didn't understand it either.

Luke squatted down in front of him and scratched the back of his head. "Well, you see… Oh, here I'll just show you." He reached up to a strange silver feather that hung from a sturdy chain around his neck and pressed his thumb against its edge. It must be sharp because Naruto can see a drop of blood beading up from where touched. Luke turned his hand over and the drop of blood dripped off his hand and fell through the air. Before it touched the ground it turned into a feather which then morphed into a bird. Luke cupped his hands and the bird hopped onto them. He held it out to Naruto who watched with wide-eyed wonder. "I make these birds and then I can send them off somewhere and look through their eyes. Most Ishtvar can make at least one but I can keep track of twenty."

"And he currently has twenty-three, more than half of them are in the same place and he's ignoring Marru again." Drayan said. It sounded as if he were trying very hard to stay awake.

"Alright fine. I'll call a few of them off." Luke snapped at him. He looked back over at Naruto and realized that he was still gawking at him with his mouth hanging open. "Hey, kid? You okay? I didn't break your brain or anything, did I?"

That seemed to snap Naruto out of it. He started rattling off comments and questions faster than Luke could process them. "That was awesome! How'd you do that? Are you a ninja? Hey! Can you read my mind like Kin and Marru? What are Kin and Marru? Does Drayan have one or is he different from us? How is Drayan a kid and not a kid at the same time? Why's he so tired? What's 'ish-t-var' mean? Why did you need so many eye-bird-thingies in the same place? Where'd that scary blonde lady go? How come—"

"Whoawhoawhoa!" Luke threw his hands up. "Rein it in a bit buddy. Kin doesn't take the form of a horse by any chance, does she?" He could hear laughter echoing from both Kin and Marru. Another question formed in Naruto's mind but Luke stopped him before he could ask. "Seriously, ease up a bit. I can only answer one question at a time. Hey, Drayan! Help me out a bit here." Drayan didn't respond. He had his arms wrapped around his knees and his head leaned against them, shaggy hair hiding his face from view. "Hey! Are you asleep?" Still no response. "Well, shit. Okay, okay, I won't swear in front of the kid. You don't have to yell at me, Marru. Umm… How about this, which question do you want answered first?"

Naruto paused and thought through his list of questions before deciding on the one that he and Kin both thought was the most pressing. "Where'd that scary blonde lady go?"

"Water country. And to answer one of your other questions, she's what I had my 'eye-bird-thingies', as you put it, watching." Luke told Naruto. "We shouldn't have to worry about her for awhile."

"You're sure?"

"Unfortunately," Luke sighed, "you can never be completely sure about anything when it comes to LieuSheeta."

"LieuSheeta?" Naruto paused and thought about the odd way Luke had pronounced the name. It was the same way Marru had called herself and Luke LukimonMarru. "The same way that you're LukimonMarru and I'm NarutoKin?"

Luke's eyes widened. He ruffled Naruto's hair. "You picked up on that, huh? You're a sharp kid. By the way, the answer is yes, she's like us." He smiled as Naruto tried to straighten his hair back out. "And the next question is 'what are we?' correct?" Naruto's mouth dropped open again. He started to blurt out another question but Luke spoke again before he could. "The 'how the hell do I read your mind?' question will be covered in this section as well. By the way, Marru says that you're too young to curse."

Kin giggled and Naruto tried really hard not to let his mouth drop open again. "So, what are we?"

"We are, put most simply, Ishtvar."

"You used that word before, what is it?"

"Well, first," Luke sat down and crossed his legs, "it's your first lesson in Ayleid."

Naruto frowned. "Eyelid?"

"No, no." Luke laughed and ran his hand through his hair, looking like he didn't know whether to be annoyed or amused. "Ay-_lee_-id. It's the language we use. You'll learn more about that later. In Ayleid, Ishtvar means 'bound soul'. Ishtvar are created when a living soul," Luke placed his hand on top of Naruto's head, "is bound to a Shadow." He gestured toward Kin. "When a soul dies, an Echo of that soul is left in the Shadow Realm. These Echoes merge together and form Shadows." Luke explained. "I'm sure you've already noticed that Kin speaks of herself and 'we', 'us', and 'our'." Naruto nodded. "This is because she is actually many personalities formed into one. The one you see as 'Kin' is only the strongest and most dominant of them. A Shadow won't name itself unless it's bound in some way."

"So 'Kin' is actually lots of different Echoes that got all jumbled together to make a Shadow which then got bound to me and took the name 'Kin'. That still doesn't explain the mind reading thing."

"Alright, I'll explain the mind reading thing since you're so insistent, though that's usually a later lesson. It's not really mind reading you see." Luke picked up a stick and drew an 'N' in the dirt between him and Naruto. "This is you." He drew a 'K' next to it. "This is Kin and this," he drew a large open circle, "is the Shadow Realm. Now, I'm sure you've figured out by now that your mind is connected to Kin's. Kin is, in turn, connected to the Shadow Realm." He drew in little lines connecting the symbols to each other. "You're thoughts go from your head," He tapped the top of Naruto's head with the stick and then gestured toward Kin, "to Kin and then into the Shadow Realm where any other Ishtvar can pick up on them."

Naruto's hand flew up to his temples as if that would somehow stop the process. "What? Does that mean that _she_ can—"

"Easy, easy. Calm down. Don't worry. Sheeta's never been very good at gathering information from the Shadow Realm. Plus, one of the first things you'll learn is how to block that off."

"Oh, okay." Naruto lowered his hands. "Hey, Luke? How come you guys are helping me, anyway? I mean, you guys don't even know me, so why—"

Luke looked surprised by the question but then his expression softened. Marru to faded into Luke and they seemed to merge into a single being. "NarutoKin." They both spoke in a single voice, as if they were a single being. Naruto had a strange experience just then. He realized that Luke and Marru _were_ a single being with two souls instead of two separate beings and that he and Kin were the same. "You're our little brother. We may have had no connections before but now we share the same blood. Here, give us your hand."

Naruto held out his hand and Luke and Marru took it in theirs. Using the feather-blade they made a shallow cut across Naruto's palm. Naruto watched the trail of blood in amazement. He knew what color blood was, and he had seen his own often enough, but the liquid that seeped from the cut was black. His amazement doubled as he watched the cut heal before his eyes. He looked up at LukimonMarru and gasped as they grasped the blade in their hand and pulled it. They held the hand out to Naruto, palm up, and displayed the black blood that welled up from the deep cuts which then healed even faster than Naruto's had.

"You see, NarutoKin, we share the same blood. You _are_ our little brother." LukimonMarru sighed. "We are the first, the first of the beings known as Ishtvar. We are also the Wacher and as such we shall watch over and protect those who come after us." They smiled and poked Naruto's forehead. "That means you." Marru stayed inside of Luke's body but Naruto could somehow _feel_ their minds separate.

Naruto felt Kin tug on both his sleeve and his mind. _–They speak truth.-_ She told him. He started to nod but then paused. He knew that he could trust Kin's judgment but he wondered just why he was so confident in her abilities.

"Okay!" Luke said and Naruto then remembered that the man could, virtually, read his mind. "Ayleid lesson number two. Names."

"What do names have to do with anything?"

"Names are very important, especially those of an Ishtvar's Shadow. Your Shadow's name speaks of their abilities. The meaning of Kin's name will tell you her main powers. The Ayleid word 'kin' means 'truth'."

"Truth?"

"It might not seem all that impressive right now but think about it. No one will be able to lie to you or give you false information."

"So then, no one will ever be able to lie to me?" Naruto asked.

"Well… they _could_ but Kin would know that they were lying and tell you. Your guardian will teach you more about abilities as they develop."

Naruto frowned. "My guardian?"

Luke nodded. "We'll assign someone to watch over you until you can take care of yourself. Drayan has someone in mind though I _still_ haven't figured out why he picked _Megumi_ of all people."

Naruto could hear Marru's echoing laugh. _–Isn't it obvious? It's because MegumiKai_ _was a ninja.-_

When Megumi arrived two days later, she dropped from the sky.

* * *

><p><strong>Terms<strong>

**Physical Realm:** The first plane of reality. The world that most people see. Where Time exists and souls live in physical bodies. When the soul's body dies the soul leaves this plane, no one's sure where it goes.

**Shadow Realm:** The second plane of reality. Where Time does not exist and the Echoes of deceased souls remain here. Creatures of the Shadow Realm can cross the Veil into the Physical Realm but most people can't see them, only what they do, or can only see them briefly. While a person may be able to clearly Shadows while they're in the Physical Realm, only someone with black blood can see through the Veil into the Shadow Realm. The Shadow Realm is considered a neutral, or grey realm, that is neither good nor evil. The Shadow Realm also collects large quantities of information, past, present, and future, that can be gathered by a black blood with the right natural skill set or a great deal of experience and knowledge.

**The Veil:** The barrier between the Physical and Shadow Realms.

**Echo:** The impression a deceased soul leaves in the Shadow Realm.

**Shadow:** Echoes that have merged into one being. A bound Shadow can take a substantial form in the Physical Realm that can be seen and touched by ordinary people for a determined amount of time, which varies depending on the strength of the Shadow.

**Raven:** Also called the Grey Folk. A rare type of black blood that are the most closely tied to the Shadow Realm without losing their mortality. They can draw energy from the Shadow Realm to cast spells. They believe in balance above all else and consider themselves grey, like the Shadow Realm and don't particular care what they might have to do to maintain it. The Ravens' Guild was nearly eradicated when the Ishtvar LieuSheeta and her followers went on a rampage. There are nine left alive, counting Drayan, the Ishtvar LukimonMarru, and one other who was born outside the guild.

**Rite:** A Raven's spell, spoken in Ayleid. Even a short spell is technically a Rite but in modern times a spell shorter than ten words is usually referred to as a Cast.

**Ishtvar:** A living soul bound to a Shadow. The abilities of the Ishtvar vary greatly but all share four traits, the ability to perceive all information in the Shadow Realm, the ability to Shadow-Walk, the inability to age, and the inability to die. Because the Ishtvar are so closely tied to the Shadow Realm, where there is no time, time virtually ceases to exist for them. They cannot die because their souls are bound to their Shadows which are in turn bound to the Shadow Realm. Even if the Ishtvar's body is completely destroyed it will regenerate around the soul. (One of the Ishtvar, KotesuKage, likes to demonstrate the 'you can't die' point to new Ishtvar by lopping their heads off.) Many Ishtvar have a skewed sense of time because their minds exist in both realms. They perceive things happening in the Shadow Realm as if it is happening in Time but no time actually passes in the Physical Realm while they do this. All Ishtvar are quite mad and more than little bi-polar. (More information might be offered at the ends of future chapters.)

**Forsaken Children:** A general term that encompasses all black bloods but is most frequently used to refer to the Ishtvar. The legend of the Forsaken Children also refers to the Ishtvar.

**The Black-Eyed Child:** Refers to the leader of the Ishtvar who shall, for now, remain unnamed. (Though half of you could probably already figure it out.)

**Shadow-Walking: **An ability that all Ishtvar and most Ravens learn. You step through the Veil from the Physical Realm into the Shadow Realm and then physically walk through the Shadow Realm to another point and then exit the Veil there. Since you did the walking in the Shadow Realm, you leave and enter the Physical Realm in the same moment. To those who can't see into the Shadow Realm it looks like teleportation. It can be dangerous if you don't know what you're doing so most novices are limited to a certain number of steps until they're more experienced. Not used for long distance travel because it is easy to get lost over long distance and you would still use the same amount of energy you would have used to walk the distance in the Physical Realm.

**Gate-Walking:** A rare ability only found among the Ravens. A Gate-Walker bends the Shadow Realm around them to actually teleport from one place to another. The entrance and exit portals are referred to as Gates.

_**Dray Kaiz**_**:** Shadow Blades. One of the simplest and most versatile Raven spells. Creates blades out of shadows that take any shape or form. In this chapter Luke uses them as heavy projectiles that he launches at Sheeta.

_**Marez**_**:** Eyes. A Raven spell that is used to create some kind of animal, usually a bird, that the caster can look through the eyes of. Most Ravens and Ishtvar can make at least one. Luke is the only one who can manage more than five. He can create and track twenty before he starts to lose track of his immediate surroundings.

**Ayleid: **The language of the Shadow Realm, used to cast spells. No one really knows where it came from or why it has power. (i.e. I haven't figured it out yet.)

**Ayleid Vocab.**

**Kin:** Truth

**Mar: **eye

**Marru:** Literally 'eye of.' Can also be translated as a plural 'eyes of.' 'Mar' means 'eye' and 'ru' and be translated as 'of' or 'of the.' The full word 'marru' has also occasionally been translated as 'sight.'

**Marez:** (Mar-eh-z) Plural of mar. If a word ends in a consonant you make the plural by adding 'ez'. If it ends in a vowel you just ad a 'z'.

**Lieu: **(lee-ow) Puppet

**Dray:** Shadow

**Kai:** 'Kai' is a word with a double meaning depending on the pronunciation. When pronounced the way you all probably think it should be (k-eye) it means 'blade' or 'sword'. When pronounced 'kah-ee' it means 'fire' or 'flame'. In order to avoid confusion, in modern times the second meaning is written ka'i.

**Ishtvar:** 'Ish' means 'bind'. The 't' denotes the past tense making 'isht' mean 'bound'. 'Var' means 'soul', so the word literally means 'bound soul'. The word is generally used as both singular and plural without adding a suffix (like sheep and sheep) but this is grammatically incorrect (like saying 'cow' to refer to an entire herd instead of just one animal.) Correctly the plural should be 'Ishtvarez' but no one ever uses it. 'The Ishtvar' could refer to a single Ishtvar or a group of them.

**If you notice that I'm missing any of my made up words here please tell me so that I can ad them.**

**Please assume that at some point all of this was explained to Naruto because it would not only be really boring for me to write but it would be reeeally boring for you to read.**

* * *

><p><strong>As I said at the beginning of the chapter please tell me if something doesn't make sense so that I can fix it.<strong>

**Woohoo! It's done. I've been working on this nonstop for a good week. The next chapter might take awhile because I'm going off to my second year of college in three days and I won't be able to devote the same amount of time to writing. In fact, I've been devoting the time I was supposed to be going through the stuff for my dorm room to writing instead.**

**Thanks for reading and please review,**

**Ebony**

**P.S. Can anyone tell me how old Naruto and co. were when they started at the academy?**

**Next Time: Naruto returns to Konoha and his new guardian has a surprise for the Uchiha clan.**


	2. Homecoming

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. I do, however, own the plot, my original characters, etc.**

**Wow. This is the fastest I've updated anything in a long time. That's probably because I haven't gotten much in the way of homework yet so I've had nearly nothing to do and I had a lot of this chapter already planned out because most of it was originally supposed to go in the first chapter but then the first chapter got really long and I wanted to post it before I left for school.**

**Anyway, on with the chapter!**

**Chapter Two: Homecoming**

_**(*)NarutoKin(*)**_

Drayan spent the better part of the next two days sleeping. When he was awake, he was groggy, irritable, and got into constant arguments with Luke, which were almost never finished because Drayan would fall back asleep. Luke told Naruto that the seal that Drayan had placed on him that cut him off from most of his abilities and allowed him to age had taken a lot of Drayan's energy because he, himself, was cut off from most of his powers and was only a child.

Luke spent the time teaching Naruto. He had started off going over the basics of the Ishtvar and the Shadow Realm but had then found himself horribly appalled by Naruto's lack of general knowledge. Luke then decided that Megumi could take care of the Ishtvar stuff and that he was going to start filling in the gaps in Naruto's education, starting with reading, because Megumi wouldn't think too, or so he said. That reasoning nearly turned into another fight but Drayan fell asleep barely fifteen seconds in.

In the late afternoon of the second day, Naruto and Luke sat in the middle of the makeshift campsite in the midst of a reading lesson while Drayan watched, his eyes a lighter shade of grey than Naruto had first saw. He had been awake for half an hour already and looked greatly determined not to fall back asleep.

That was the exact moment when MegumiKai dropped from the sky. She landed directly in front of Naruto and Luke, right on top of the letters that Naruto was trying to copy. She looked back up at the sky and waved to someone or something that Naruto couldn't see.

Naruto's jaw hung open as he looked up at the newcomer. He got the impression that Megumi didn't much like color. She wore light tan cargo shorts, a dark brown short-sleeved shirt, and black sandals. Her shoulder-length hair was also brown, curling upward slightly at her shoulders, and her eyes were charcoal black. The only real color on her entire person is the familiar seeming red and white fan embroidered on the back of her shirt. Her Shadow, Kai, Naruto remembered, appeared behind her. He was a head and shoulders taller than she was and had long scraggly hair. He wore what looked like a pair of katana across his back but his figure was too dark to make out any more details.

Drayan looked like he'd fallen asleep sitting up and Luke looked really annoyed. "I wasn't expecting you for at least another week, Megumi." He said though clenched teeth.

Megumi just smiled. "I made Kage loan me Kotesu. Much faster."

"Made? You didn't light his hair on fire again, did you?"

"I most certainly did not." She scoffed. "I only threatened to."

"You know… This, _this_," Luke stood up and stepped forward, obscuring the rest of Naruto's reading lesson, "is _exactly_ why I didn't want to leave the kid with you. Look what happened when we left Aggie with you! You lost her!"

"I was distracted for all of two seconds! She Shadow-Walked thirty miles! _Thirty Miles!_" Megumi exclaimed. "I'm sorry, Mister Gate-Walker, but I cannot Shadow-Walk _thirty miles_. Besides, Terru and Kai both had eyes on her the entire time it took me to get there. And, frankly, _you_ don't have any room to talk."

"_I_ never lost Aggie." Luke retorted.

"_You_ nearly got arrested because somebody thought you were a kidnapper when Drayan was freaking out after Lady Agari's death."

"That was _once_ and—"

"And then there's _this_." Megumi gestured around the campsite. "What is this? You couldn't have gone and found an inn or something and, I don't know, put Drayan in an actual _bed_."

"First off, let me finish." Megumi's mouth snapped shut under Luke's glare. She returned the glare and crossed her arms, waiting. "Second, don't bring up Lady Agari unless you _want_ Drayan freaking out. And third—"

"Um…" Naruto stopped trying to look around their feet to see if any of the letters Luke had written in the dirt were still legible. "You're standing on my reading lesson."

Megumi and Luke both jumped and looked down at Naruto like they had forgotten he was there. Megumi then looked down at her feet at the smeared writing under her feet. She backed away. "Oops. I was aiming for Luke's head."

"Sorry kid." Luke picked up the stick he used to write with earlier and retraced the letters. His head jerked back up and he narrowed his eyes at Megumi. "Hey, wait a minute—"

"Thanks, Luke!" Naruto pointed to one set of letters with his own stick. "What's this one again?" Luke siat back down next to Naruto and restarted the lesson where he'd left off when Megumi interrupted. Megumi sat next to the sleeping Drayan and watched. Naruto glanced over at her nervously every now and then, worrying that she might start another fight with Luke and mess up his lesson again, but she just sat quietly, watching.

"The kid can't read?" She asked when Luke had finished talking.

"No, we're just going over all this because the kid wants a refresher course." Luke rolled his eyes. "Yes, he can't read. Never even been to any kind of school."

"Really? Geez. Did he tell you why not?"

Before Luke could answer, Drayan stirred. He yawned and rubbed his eyes. "Did Megumi drop in yet?"

"Yup! Right next to you." Megumi leaned over and ruffled Drayan's hair. He swatted at her hand but the movement was so sluggish that it was already long gone. "You were sleeping."

"Drop in?" Luke looked from Megumi to Drayan, feeling like he'd missed some joke. "Wait! You bastard!" He rounded on Drayan. "You knew! You knew she's bummed a ride off Kage and was going to try to land on my head! And you didn't tell me!"

"I wanted to see the look on your face but, apparently, I missed it anyway."

"You all just love making jokes at my expense, don't you?"

"Aw, come on, Luke." Megumi said. "You're just so—"

"If that sentence ends with 'adorable when you're angry' I'm going to kill you." Luke snarled. Megumi just smiled coyly without speaking, letting Luke know that that was exactly what she was going to say. "Why you!"

Luke dove across the clearing. He grabbed Megumi by the throat and pinned her to the ground. Suddenly, Megumi had a black kunai in her hand and drove it into Luke's shoulder. Luke sprung backward, not very far, a straight-edged dagger in his hand. Megumi lunged at him before he could recover. She buried her kunai in Luke's other shoulder and drove him to the ground. She held his left wrist down and his other hand, and knife, were pinned under his body.

Megumi grinned and dug the kunai deeper. "You'd think you'd a' learned to fight after a couple thousand years." Luke glared at her.

"Hey! You're on my reading lesson again!"

Both of the brawlers started and looked over at Naruto. They both vanished, and then reappeared on opposite sides of the clearing. "Oops…" Megumi twirled her kunai around her finger. "Again."

Luke grumbled under his breath. He stood with his back toward the clearing with his arms crossed, knife still in hand. Drayan looked like he wanted to laugh but didn't have the energy. Naruto glanced around at all three of them, wondering what was going to happen next.

Drayan spoke first. "If you two are done behaving like children, can we get back to important issues, like, I don't know, planning the future, the kid's curriculum, why the sky's blue." Megumi giggled and Luke grunted. "Well, if that's settled, I'm taking a nap. Luke, we're leaving in the morning." Drayan simply closed his eyes and fell silent.

The clearing became completely silent. Luke looked over his shoulder at Megumi. The moment their eyes met, they both broke out laughing.

"Hey, hey! What's so funny?" Naruto looking back and forth between the two of them, not understanding what was so funny or how two people who had literally been trying to rip each other's throats out one moment could be laughing like best friends the next. They both quieted and looked down at Naruto, then abruptly started laughing again. "What?"

"When you're older." Megumi said.

Luke added. "You'll get it when you're older."

_**(*)MegumiKai(*)**_

It was early in the morning and the air was cool and damp. This had always been Megumi's favorite time of day, despite the fact that the dampness clashed with her natural fire. She sighed and smiled into the cool breeze. Today would be a good day for traveling.

Drayan was awake, barely. Luke scooped him up and set him on his shoulders. The sight reminded Megumi of when she had first seen the pair. It was sometimes easy to forget just how long ago that was.

Megumi grabbed Naruto by the back of his shirt and swung him over her shoulder like a sack of potatoes. The boy giggled as she tickled his tummy, making both Luke and Drayan smile. She swung him the rest of the up so that he sat on her shoulders with that big goofy grin of his. Megumi had to smile. The kid really was a bundle of sunshine.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Luke asked.

Megumi wasn't exactly sure who he was asking but it turned out that it didn't matter because everybody gave him the same answer at the same time. "Yes!"

"Alright! Alright! Geez, no need to shout." To Luke's increasing irritation, Megumi and Naruto giggled at him. "You know what? Never mind. You to make a great pair of giggly idiots." Drayan pulled Luke's hair. "Ow! Hey!"

"You're making a scene. Stop it." Drayan emphasized his point by tugging Luke's hair again. Luke grumbled about not being a pony ride but Drayan ignored him, addressing Naruto instead. He bit his thumb and muttered a word under his breath. The drop of blood that dripped from the cut turned into a long black feather as Luke's had the other day, but changed no farther than that. The feather hovered in the air over Drayan's hand surrounded by a sphere of light and Naruto watched in awe as he held it out to him. "Naruto… I give to you this."

Naruto reached out and wrapped his hands around the sphere. There was nothing to physically touch but it moved with his hands when he pulled them back. "What is it?" He asked as the light dimmed and the feather floated down onto his palms.

"It's a Raven's Plume." Drayan said. "When taken, it burns the hand that clutches it. When given, it heals the hand that cradles it. You might not really need it, but it should speed up your regenerative abilities. It's also a symbol. Megumi can explain it to you later."

"Thank you." Naruto said, his voice filled with awe and gratitude. Megumi wondered, as she watched him carefully stroke the feather, if he had ever been given anything before.

Drayan gave him a tired smile and a nod. He lifted his head and looked Naruto square in the eye, his grey eyes darkening in color. "One day, NarutoKin, you will be great. I know that I will be able to count on you." Drayan lay one arm across Luke's head and lay his own head against it.

Luke tried to maintain as much dignity as he could with a sleeping child on his head. "Well, it looks like this is so long for now, kid. Don't worry, we'll see each other again soon enough. You listen to Megumi until then, okay? Irritating little girl she might be, she does know what she's talking about. Especially when it comes to fighting."

Megumi glared at him then grinned. "Maybe you ought to let this 'irritating little girl' teach you a thing or two about fighting since you so royally suck at it."

"You just want an excuse to put a knife it me."

"Yup!" Megumi chirped.

"That's what I thought. Later, brats." Luke turned on his heel and started walking through the trees.

"Bye Luke!" Naruto shouted after him, waving both arms above his head. "And tell Drayan 'bye' for me when he wakes up!" Luke said nothing in reply, just gave them a backward wave over his shoulder. As Luke vanished into the trees, Naruto's smile faded. "Hey, Megumi? Do you know the way to Konoha? Because I don't know where we are or how to get back."

"Ask Kin."

"Kin?"

Megumi nodded. "Shadows have the ability to locate any Named place. This ability is enhanced in a Bound Shadow if who or what they're bound to has a strong connection to the place. Since you and Kin don't have all of your powers, I wouldn't expect you to be able to find a place you've never been to, but because you have such a strong connection to Konoha, Naruto, I think that Kin should be able to find it." She told him and then blatantly eavesdropped on their conversation.

Naruto: _-What do you think, Kin?-_

Kin: _-She speaks truth.-_

Naruto: _-But she was also saying that she wasn't sure.-_

Megumi smiled. Time to play the trump card. "Well, if you don't think you're up to it, I'll just have Kai lead us."

"No way! We can do this, no sweat! Believe it!" Naruto declared, grabbing a chunk Megumi's hair as he did so. Kin ran ahead of them, taking the form of a slightly larger than average fox with two tails. She yipped at Megumi and took off through the trees. Megumi grinned and followed. This was going to be fun.

**{Break}**

Megumi was starting to remember why she loved children. Naruto was little bundle of energy and sunshine. He soaked up any and all information she presented him with. It was easy to see why Drayan and Luke were so taken with him. He was very Light among a people who had a tendency to be very Dark. The kid had even managed to get Drayan to smile for the first time in months. She grinned as Naruto started babbling out loud to both her and Kin about how wonderful Konoha was.

Maybe she'd look after Aggie next time Kage needed a break.

_-I might just hold you to that.-_

_-Kage, you asshole! Eavesdropping's rude.-_

Kage: _-It's not my fault you're so god-awful loud. Now, about this Aggie-sitting you offered to do— - _

Megumi:_ -Unfortunately, I'm going to be preoccupied for the next decade and a half. I'll have to recant that offer.-_

Kage: _-Of course you will.-_

"Megumi? Hey, Megumi? Megumi?" Naruto tugged at Megumi's hair to get her attention. "Hey, Megumi? Are you talking to someone? Megumi?"

"Yes, Naruto, I am." Megumi was starting to remember why she hated kids.

Three different bouts of laughter reached her. Kage, Luke and… Zel! Well, great! The baby of the family was laughing at her now!

Zel:_ -I'm not the baby anymore.-_

Kage: _-You're definitely still a baby.-_

Zel: _-Hey! Who're you calling a baby?-_

Megumi: _-Why are you talking like this when you can't be more than two rooms apart?- _

Kage sighed. _–The same room, actually.-_

Zel: _-This way I can bug you and Luke too!-_

Kage: _-Oh, shut it!-_

Zel: _-Gah! That was my head! What the hell did you lop of my head for? You asshole!_

Kage: _-Ahg! That's my arm! You flea-bitten sorry excuse for a canine! You ripped my arm off! Damn it, Zel! Call off your mutt!-_

Zel: _-You started it you bastard!-_

Jeanne: _-Who're you calling a mutt?-_

Megumi: _-Is it just me or do all of Kage's attempts to shut Zel up only succeed in making things louder?-_

It was a sensation that had always unnerved Megumi early on in this life; the feeling that four people who knows how far apart were standing in the same room. She could feel something between annoyance and amusement radiating off of Luke and the sideways look he would be giving her had they been standing next to her as they watched Kage and Zel squabble.

Luke: _-Now, now, children—-_

Kage and Zel: _-Who're you calling children!-_

Luke: _-Oh, I don't know, the two noisily bickering brats that are going to wake up Drayan if they don't shut up. Not that I'd mind too much since he's drooling on my head but he needs all the rest he can get and you're not helping.-_

"Hey, Megumi?"

Megumi winced. At least he didn't yank her hair this time. She pulled herself away from the mental conversation (argument) and focused her attention back onto her physical companion who rode on her shoulders. "What's up, Naruto?"

"Well, I was wondering," Naruto began, "how come I could hear when you and Luke and Kin talk through the Shadow Realm to me but I can't hear the people talking to you?"

"It probably has to do with the fact that your powers aren't fully intact." Megumi explained. "That's probably going to be the answer to a lot of your questions about why you can't do things the rest of us can. As for speaking through the Shadow Realm, you'll probably only be able to hear others if they are speaking directly to you. With the exception of Kin, of course."

_-Naruto! Megumi-_ Kin took human form in front of them. She waved her arms and pointed off into the distance. She ran to them and walked beside them, grinning. _–Konoha!-_

Megumi smiled as the top of Konoha's gates became visible. _–It looks like we've reached the beginning of a new path. What say you, Kai?-_

_-We agree with the Master.-_ Kai said._ –The boy will be great.-_

_-Yes.-_ Her smile widened as Naruto began another bout of excited babble. _–I must agree.-_

_**(*)Sarutobi(*)**_

Sarutobi, the Hokage of Konoha, and one of the greatest shinobi that ever lived, felt powerless. The reason wasn't the mountain of paperwork that was piling up on his desk, either. He sighed as he gazed out the window that overlooked Konoha. He bit down on the end of his pipe. It had been four days since Naruto Uzumaki had disappeared and there were still no clues as to where he might have gone.

Half the council was in an uproar, demanding to know how the 'demon child' could have been allowed to escape. No one had any kind of answer to give them because no one knew where or how he had gone. Some of the more paranoid members were insisting that hunter ninja be sent out after him.

The Hokage had, in fact, sent his most trusted ANBU to find Naruto. Sarutobi thought that Naruto might have still been in the village somewhere, the boy knew all its nooks and crannies better than most seasoned ninja. He had yet to turn up, though, and it was starting to make even the more level-headed of the council members anxious.

"Lord Hokage!" An AMBU in a dog mask with white hair that stuck up above it every which way appeared in an open window, interrupting the Hogake's thoughts.

"Any luck, Hound?" He asked, exhaling a puff of smoke.

"Actually, yes."

"What?" Sarutobi turned around, his eyes wide. "How is he? Is he alright?"

"There's no need to worry. He's perfectly fine." Hound assured the Hogake. "Crow is escorting them up."

"Where did you—wait. Them?"

"Yes. It seems that Naruto has made a new friend. It was pure chance that they walked in the gate right when we were about to leave to go look for him. There's also something else—"

The door to the office was pushed open. "Hey, old man!" Naruto sat on the shoulders of a brown-haired, dark-eyed girl. Crow closed the door behind them, his shoulders oddly tense. "Did ja' miss me?"

Srutobi's expression softened. "Yes, Naruto, but," He tried to hide his surprise as he took in Naruto's appearance for the first time. The whisker-like scars that had marred his cheeks had vanished, leaving no trace, and his hair seemed to have lightened a shade. He looked even more like a miniature version of his father than he had before. "What happened?"

"A bunch of villagers chased me into the woods." Naruto shot off in his usual fashion. "Then, nee-san found me and since she was coming to Konoha anyway she brought me back."

The Hokage frowned. Even if Naruto had run a day out and taken a day to return, there were still two days missing somewhere in the story. He stroked his chin and eyed the girl suspiciously. "So, miss, why were you on your way to our fair village?"

The girl shrugged, an odd gesture with a small child on her shoulders. "My mother died not long ago and I heard that my father may have been from here, so, I thought I'd come check it out. I doubt find him though. I don't even know his given name."

"And what, may I ask, is your name, young lady?"

The girl smiled but there was a strange glint in her eye that made Sarutobi feel like she was laughing at him. "My name is Megumi Uchiha."

* * *

><p><strong>Terms<strong>

**Raven's Plume: **Refers to either one of two things. In this chapter, the Raven's Plume that Drayan gives Naruto is a charm that is created by a Raven and given to someone, usually a less powerful black-blood, that the Raven wishes to protect. The Plume contains a minor healing charm that speeds the healing of injuries and can prevent life threatening wounds. A Raven's Plume cannot be stolen. If someone other than the person it was meant for tries to take it, it will burn them. There is a saying about the Raven Plume that says: "When taken, it burns the hand that clutches it. When given, it heals the hand that cradles it." Because of this saying, when a Raven gives a Plume to someone they usually say "I give to you this" or simply "I give this to you" instead of "Take this". This has no effect on the spell, it doesn't care about the wording. It is simply tradition. The Raven's Plume is highly symbolic for the Ishtvar in the current era. (Why will be explained later.)

Raven's Plume also refers to the silver feather-shaped talisman worn by Ravens. (Luke uses his in chapter one). It's usually worn from a chain, on the collar of a coat, or, most commonly, a cloak pin. (More detail will be added when (or if) the Raven's become more important.

**People of Note**

**The Lady Agari:** (Uh-gahr-eye). A powerful Raven seal master who was killed by Sheeta when the Raven's Guild was destroyed. Drayan's mother, (technically). I mention her here because she will come up in the story whether I decide to include the rest of the Ravens or not.

**ZelJeanne: **The youngest Ishtvar, excluding Naruto. I bring her up here because she and Jeanne (Zhahn) break half the rules that govern the Ishtvar. Jeanne's name has no Ayleid meaning. He is the only Shadow who refers to himself in the singular (I, me, my, as opposed to we, us, our.) He is also the only Shadow who can take a Substantial human form for a prolonged length of time and can take an animal one indefinitely. (The story of why will probably come up later.)

**Ayleid Vocab.**

**Kin:** Truth

**Mar: **eye

**Marru:** Literally 'eye of.' Can also be translated as a plural 'eyes of.' 'Mar' means 'eye' and 'ru' and be translated as 'of' or 'of the.' The full word 'marru' has also occasionally been translated as 'sight.'

**Marez:** (Mar-eh-z) Plural of mar. If a word ends in a consonant you make the plural by adding 'ez'. If it ends in a vowel you just ad a 'z'.

**Lieu: **(lee-ow) Puppet

**Dray:** Shadow

**Kai:** 'Kai' is a word with a double meaning depending on the pronunciation. When pronounced the way you all probably think it should be (k-eye) it means 'blade' or 'sword'. When pronounced 'kah-ee' it means 'fire' or 'flame'. In order to avoid confusion, in modern times the second meaning is written ka'i.

**Ishtvar:** 'Ish' means 'bind'. The 't' denotes the past tense making 'isht' mean 'bound'. 'Var' means 'soul', so the word literally means 'bound soul'. The word is generally used as both singular and plural without adding a suffix (like sheep and sheep) but this is grammatically incorrect (like saying 'cow' to refer to an entire herd instead of just one animal.) Correctly the plural should be 'Ishtvarez' but no one ever uses it. 'The Ishtvar' could refer to a single Ishtvar or a group of them.

**Kote: **(coat-eh) Refers to the sky or the place above.

**Kotesu:** 'In the sky' or 'in the place above'. 'Su' means 'in' or 'in the'. Kote is translated above.

**This chapter is about half the length of the first. Please tell me if you think that's a good thing or a bad thing.**

**One of my, and thus far my only, reviewer (thank you Rinnala) suggested that I put the Ayleid vocabulary at the beginning of the chapter instead of the end. My only concern is that new words might have spoilers for the chapter. Please review and tell me what you think.**

**On another 'tell me what you think' note. I've been debating how large a roll the Ravens will play in this story. One of my concerns is that most Naruto fans hate it when OCs have western names and the Ravens almost all have western names. I've been thinking about this since I decided to post this story. One of my ideas that I thought might make the western names less annoying was that by having a different style of names than the regular people of the Naruto world, it would set them apart as different, strange, or a part of a separate society. If you guys still don't like it only two Ravens (apart from Drayan and Luke) will have any kind of major role in the story. This won't come up for a long while yet (as in Shippuden long while) but please tell me what you think so I can plan later parts of the story.**

**In an attempt to get more people to see this story, I'm not posting it in the middle of the night this time. (By nine in the morning it was already on page five.) Today I'm trying late afternoon, next time I might try early morning.**

**Anyway, the next chapter might take me longer with the course load I'm dealing with.**

**Thanks for reading and please review,**

**Ebony**


End file.
